Published by: Ubisoft
Developed by: Ubisoft Montreal
Genre: Third-Person Action
When talks of a new “Splinter Cell” game started to circle awhile back my friends and I quickly grew excited at the notion of another kick-ass game featuring the legendary Sam Fisher. In 2005, “TC’s SC: Chaos Theory” pushed the capabilities of the original X-Box to the limit with incredible lighting and a unique multiplayer experience. You’ll find “Chaos Theory” among my favorite games of all-time.
Wow! A lot can change in 5 years. With “Conviction” Ubisoft has really dropped the ball on what made “CT” something special. My friends were immediately turned off by the fact that the game no longer contains the “Spy” vs. “Merc” multiplayer and I was immediately turned off when I started playing the single person demo on X-Box Live. First of all after recently completing “Batman: Arkham Asylum” the only way I can compare the game controls of this to that is clunky. Even worse is a so called innovation called “Mark and Execute” that is just about as exciting as programming your DVR. Where “Batman: AA” might be one of the best action games ever made, “Conviction” doesn’t even feel like an action game but more like a lame step-by-step process of hide here, push B here, mark and execute there and then follow the signs to your goal. Is this a video game or a skills test for a kid being tested for Down Syndrome?
You can’t really get a full sense of a video game’s story from a demo but you definitely can detect some awful voice acting (excluding Mr. Ironside), and given how amazing Splinter Cell CT’s graphics were on the X-Box, Conviction’s are really just kind of average. Now I have serious man-love for Michael Ironside but I don’t dig Sam Fisher’s new make-over giving him a more Damon look that I guess is suppose to give more identity, but all I keep thinking is “Matt Damon”.
Overall, “Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction” is a sad experience and the fact that the average gamer can beat the game in just about 8 hours makes you wonder if you could spend $60 somewhere else.
DEMO TEST: FAIL